The present invention relates to methods of producing ethylene oxide by the catalytic oxidation of ethylene. Ethylene oxide ranks high among other products of organic synthesis in terms of the tonnage turned out, the wide-spread application enjoyed in the manufacture of antifreeze, man-made fibres, surfactants, etc. along with the derivatives of ethylene oxide, such as ethylene glycol, ethers of ethylene glycol, ethynol amine, etc.
Methods of producing ethylene oxide are known in the art by the oxidation of ethylene with oxygen or air at a temperature between 200.degree. and 300.degree. C. in a fluidized bed of a silver catalyst containing an oxide of a metal from the second group of the periodic table, such as barium or calcium, deposited on a support which may be fused alumina, mullite (aluminium silicate refractory) or Carborunbum.
The known methods suffer from a number of disadvantages, such as low hourly rate of output (between 60 and 100 g of ethylene oxide per liter of catalyst), an inadequately high catalyst strength, as their tendency is to coalesce when in fluidized state, and low concentration of ethylene oxide in the feed stream. In large diameter reaction vessels used for oxidation the selectivity and conversion are low due to the impaired homogeneity of the fluidized bed and the fact that some of the reaction gas passes through this bed in large bubbles interfering with both mass and heat transfer.